James todd



(No Model.)

Jrrom. METAL TOWER.

No. 569,687. v Patented. Oct. 20, 1896.

WITNESSES! VE/V T05:

fa JIFMES T0130 BYMDU. H/sfi rrafiA/Ers.

UNITED STATES ATENT rrrcn,

J AMES TODD, OF BATAVIA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE CHALLENGE WIND MILLAND FEEDMILL COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

M ETAL TOWER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,687, dated October20, 1896.

Application filed January 30,1895. Renewed October 21, 1895.$eria1N0-586A14. (No model.)

To aZZ whont it 'HLLLZ/ concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES TODD, a citizen of the United States, residingin Batavia, iii the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Metal Towers,of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to the construction of the skeleton towers nowcommonly employed to support elevated tanks of village an d otherwater-supply systems, and wherein the posts or vertical members are ofLarimer or some similar columnar construction.

The invention is intended to afford a means of connecting the diagonalbraces to the columns, which will avoid any tendency to twist or drawthe metal of the column out of shape and by which the strain of thebraces at one side of the column will be transmitted to and resisted inpart, at least, by the braces at the other side of the column. In boththese respects it is an improvement upon previous constructions.

The nature of the improvement is fully set forth in the descriptiongiven below, and will be fully understood from the accompanyingdrawings, in which latter- Figure 1 is a partial elevation of a towerembodying the invention, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective of thejoint between the columns and the diagonal braces, to which theinvention particularly relates.

In said drawings, A A may represent the posts, B B the horizontal strutsorbraces, and C O the diagonal tension-braces of any ordinary metaltower, such as are being quite commonly used for supporting the elevatedtanks, the. The posts are of the well-known Larimer columnarconstruct-ion, each being composed of two companion wide-flanged I-beams a C6, the webs of which have been bent into concavo-convex formand the beams put together with the bent webs closely adjacent to eachother, as shown at Fig. 2, and suitably secured by riveting. 1 flnd thisconstruction of column better suited to use in towers intended. tosustain heavy weights than any other, but other analogous columnarconstructions may be used with myinvention, if preferred.

The tensioirbraces C are all attached at their ends to the columns ofthe tower as follows: A strong band of flat metal D, of suitable length,is bent transversely to conform to the angling position of the flangesof the outer beams a of the column, and is placed around said beam andriveted to both flanges thereof, as shown at (Z. The ends of this bandproject at either side of the column-beam, and to these ends thediagonal braces are suitably attached. I prefer that the end of eachbrace shall be furnished with a clevis 0, adapted to set over the end ofthe band and to be secured thereto by a bolt, and also that the clevisof one of each pair of braces be made wide enough to embrace the clevisof the companion brace attached at the same end of the band D, so that asingle bolt will secure both braces to the band.

It will be noticed that the bands D secure together the beam-flanges towhich the braces are attached in the plane of the braceatt-achments, andalso preferably in the plane of the struts B, so that the strain of thebraces does not come wholly upon the web of the beam, but is transmittedfrom one flange to the other flange and thence to the braces attached tothe latter flange, and also to some extent to the other beam of thecolumn. I thus obviate the danger existing in prior constructions of anyyielding to the strain of the braces by the web of the column-beam.

I am aware that in towers wherein the corner posts or columns are formedof angle-iron bands have been placed outside of the posts and providedwith outstanding ears or lugs as a means for the attachment of thebracerods to the columns. In that construction the evil sought to beremedied by me does not exist, because the strain of the rods is exactlyparallel with the flat webs of the columns, and the webs effectuallyprevent any torsion or bending of the metal in the columns; but with theLarimer column the strain of the brace-rods where the latter are securedto the flanges of the outside beam of the column, as in the old mannerof attaching them, tends to bend or draw the web of that beam outstraight; or, in other words, the strain of the braces, which isresisted by the web of the outer beam, may cause the opening orspreading apart of the flanged edges of the beam.

It is the prevention of this result which forms I taehed to the ends ofsaid band and exerting the object of my invention. their tension indirections parallel to the faces I claim of the flanges of said outerbeam, whereby The metal tower wherein are combined a the tendency of thebraces to straighten out Larimei' column arranged with one of its thebend in the web of said outer e0lu1nn beams at the outside and the otherat the inbeam is overcome, substantially as specified. side, abandDplaced around said outerbeam and secured to both flanges thereof, andalso I having its ends extended beyond said flanges 1 Without howeverbeing attached to the flanges of the inside beam, and tension-braces Oat- JAMES TODD. itnesses:

THos. L. MAIR, ALBERT E. SNOW.

